Colin McPhillips, a Hobie team rider and three-time Association of Surfing Professionals longboard world champ, rides a stand up paddleboard.

Colin McPhillips, a Hobie team rider and three-time Association of Surfing Professionals longboard world champ, rides a stand up paddleboard.

Photo: Handout, Hobie SUP

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"Surfers Against SUP" created this bumper sticker that ridicules SUP riders

"Surfers Against SUP" created this bumper sticker that ridicules SUP riders

Photo: Handout

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Silhouette of rider on Hobie Stand Up Paddleboard riding the surf.

Silhouette of rider on Hobie Stand Up Paddleboard riding the surf.

Photo: Handout, Hobie SUP

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War in the waves despite similar quest

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We all can't get along after all, it turns out.

Especially not on the coast where surfers, often in hostile terms, have declared war against those on stand up paddleboards (SUPs), many of whom are new to the sport.

"They don't know what they're doing out there; they get in the way, and they ruin it for us," said a longtime surfer known as Parking Lot Mike, who works at a surf shop. "I call SUP crap shooting. I'm not into it, and while I don't speak for others, I don't think many others (surfers) are either."

As the big-wave season gets started off the Bay Area and Santa Cruz coasts - the first big swells rolled in last week - this is a story that is building like the rollers off Mavericks.

Stand up paddleboarding in the surf on the Bay Area coast can be a lot of fun and is a lot easier than surfing - except that most surfers don't like it at all.

A Facebook page called "Surfers Against SUP" was started in 2011 and is dedicated to pouring gasoline on the conflagration.

In one photo, the site posted a mock advertisement for a Ryobi power saw entitled "Tools For Surfers" with a stand up paddleboard and paddle, each cut into eight pieces, lying on the beach. In another, a photo shows a bumper sticker with a red circle and bar overlaying a paddleboarding clown.

I've taken a few surfing lessons and also have enjoyed the growth of stand up paddleboarding, which along with kayaking is one of the fastest-growing water sports in the Bay Area and across America. In Hawaii, a sport that resembled stand up paddleboarding was long practiced before it became commercialized with a brand name. It was historically common for native Hawaiians to paddle a board while standing.

I called the owners of five surf shops, some of which sell both surfboards and stand up paddleboards, and not one would go on the record to explain the loathing that surfers have for SUPs, in fear, they said, it would hurt their businesses.

"SUPs are larger and a lot heavier than surfboards, and with beginners can be dangerous to surfers riding the same wave," one shop owner said, not elaborating and not agreeing to attribution. Stand up paddleboard riders had similar resistance to being identified.

For those new to riding the surf, stand up paddleboards solve a few key issues that can be prohibitive for those who try surfing.

One is the amount of paddling it takes to get out past the surf line, over and over. If you have any shoulder problems, like worn-out rotator cuffs, paddling a stand up paddleboard can solve that.

Another skill for surfers is the burst of propulsion it takes to paddle into a wave. That's also a lot easier while standing up with a high-tech paddle.

There is also a key moment as the wave builds where you stop paddling and jump up to your feet; if you do not time it right or don't have the flexibility, you can lose forward momentum and the wave will slide right past you and you miss the ride. That's also no issue for those on stand up paddleboards because you're already on your feet.

This is part of the talent and fitness all surfers share, and over time at beaches, camaraderie develops between them, even if they only know each other by nicknames, like Parking Lot Mike. It's like a club. When an outsider shows up with a stand up paddleboard, they are often viewed as an invading force.

Stand up paddleboards best resemble a large, flat, solid kayak that you stand on. They often range to 12 feet long and 25 to 30 pounds, often more than double the mass of a surfboard.

They have become popular on San Francisco Bay, especially on the flat water of Richardson Bay off Sausalito along China Camp State Park on the west side of San Pablo Bay and at several lakes in the East Bay foothills.

In Half Moon Bay, the protected waters of Pillar Point Harbor at Princeton provide a similar haven. As stand up paddleboard owners gain confidence in their new sport, they start envisioning heading out to the surf, and before long, off they go.

While surfers might view them as pariahs, they share the same hope: to catch a wave and find the sweet spot, the effortless euphoria as you propel forward to the beach.

The story "Paralyzed athlete Grant Korgan achieves polar goal," which appeared in the Jan. 29, 2012 editions of The Chronicle and on SFGate.com, won first place in the outdoor fun and adventure category in the newspaper/website division for 2012. That honor made it a finalist against winners of the other six categories in the division.

Stienstra is the first three-time winner in the 20-year history of the award.

The association's 850 members are eligible for the awards, which were presented at the group's annual conference in September in Lake Placid, N.Y.